Does Wax Matter?

Broad Question

Does different wax affect the sliding friction of skis?

Specific Question

Does different Swix waxes: glide wax, Ch8, and Ch10

Variables

Independent Variable:

Wax (Glidewax, CH8, Ch10)

Dependent Variable:

Speed (mph)

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:

Distance
Temperature outside
Ski

I Hypothesize that the wax that will allow the ski to go the fastest down the hill will be the Glidewax followed CH8, then CH10.

Graph of Hypothesis

---

---

---

---

Experimental Design

My project is to see if different types of Swix wax will effect the sliding speed of skis.

I will be conducting my Experiment at Cranmore Mountain or in Whittaker Woods which is woods used for cross country skiing next to John H. Fuller Elementary School in North Conway. In my experiment I will have one ski that will be the test subject. It will be waxed once with one wax then again with the second wax and then finally with the third and last wax. The tests will have to be the same day. If they are done on different days there might be different temperatures that will affect the test results.

To get an accurate result for each wax I will do ten trials for each, then average the ten trials for each wax. An average speed is more precise then a single speed. I think that after ten trials I will have enough data to make a reliable conclusion. To record the data, I will take notes of each speed on either my MacBook Pro or my Ipod Touch. I will then put the notes in my spread sheet on google docs. To document my process I am going to take a video of each trial and take pictures of the waxing process. When I am done, I am going to upload the pictures and videos onto my computer and make a presentation.

Materials List

1. Spray paint
2. Digital Camera
3. Three skis waxed with glide-wax,CH8, and CH10 degree wax
4. Tape measure
5. Ipod touch (timer and notes)

Procedure

1. Go to Cranmore Mountain or hill close by.
2. Take out spray paint and mark out 50 feet in the snow
3. Take the ski with the glide-wax and set it up at the top of the hill at next to the start of the 50 foot marker.
4. Using a digital stop watch, record the time it takes for the ski to get from the top of the marker to the bottom of the marker.
5. Record the time for each on Ipod Touch or Computer.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 with ski with 50 degree wax
7. Repeat steps 3-5 with ski with 25 degree wax
8. Take data from Ipod Touch and copy into Google docs spreadsheet.
9. Upload photo and videos taken during the experiment onto computer.
10. Take photos and videos and make them into presentation.
11. Do ten trials for each ski and each wax.

---

---

---

---

Background Research

1.)


Information:
Describing what Glide wax is good for and in what temperature it preforms best under. IT is better if I know this before because if i know what temperature the wax is meant for I will know what ski wax would work best. From my research i have found out that glide wax will work well in almost any weather.

2.)


Information:
For the 25 and 50 degree waxes that i am going to be using I went on their website and found out what the real names were for the waxes. Since the degrees are they way that they rate the product on how they preform in different weather. The real name for The 25 dgree wax is CH8. The real name for 50 degree wax is CH10.

3.)


Information:
Showing how to wax a pair of Alpine Skis, so that i do it right for the best results.

4.)


telling me or somebody else waxing alpine skis or a snowboard what wax is the best for that day.

References

"Alpine Wax Kits." Swix Sporst. 2011. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. <http://www.swixsport.com/eway/default.aspx?pid=278&trg=MainPage_6117&MainContent_6179=6117:0:24,2737&MainPage_6117=6138:83739::0:6118:5:::0:0>.

"F4 Universal Glide Wax 100 ml." swixsports.com. SWIX SPORT, 2011. Web. 18 Jan. 2012. <http://www.swixsport.com/eway/default.aspx?pid=278&oid=6089&trg=new_6175&MainContent_6179=6175:0:&new_6175=6089:75346::0:6191:1:::0:0>

"How to wax alpine skis." Instructables.com. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.instructables.com
/id/How-to-wax-your-alpine-skis/>.

"Swix Wax Wizard." Swix.com. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.swixsport.com/eway/default.aspx?pid=278&trg=MainContent_6179&MainContent_6179=6154:0:24,2665>.

---

---

---

---

Results

Data Table

Graphs

---

---

---

---

---

Data Analysis

Conclusion

The purpose of my experiment was to see whether different ski wax will affect the the speed of the ski sliding down the hill in the same climate and weather conditions. The different waxes that I used were Glide Wax, Ch8, and Ch 10. The experiment showed which wax would have been good for different days and for professional skiers to know what type of wax would be good for the days that they have races.

The Results of the experiment supported my hypothesis, which was that glide wax would go the fastest followed by ch8, then ch10. I think that the reason that the glide wax was the fastest down the fifty feet was because ch8 and ch10 are both meant for specific temperatures when the glide wax is meant for all around temperatures. With glide wax on your skies you could go skiing in northern Canada one day and then go skiing in New Hampshire on another day.

---

---

---

---

---

Discussion

My Hypothesis was “I Hypothesize that the wax that will allow the ski to go the fastest down the hill will be the Glidewax followed CH8, then CH10.” My results supports my hypothesis, the results were Glidewax being the fastest followed by CH8 then CH10. In my experiment the independent and dependent there is a relationship. I think that the test I did went smoothly with minor problems. In the experiment the only real problems were things like employees of cranmore telling us that we couldn’t do the experiment on the mountain at night and keeping the Fifty feet for distance consistent. If I could Improve my experiment I would measure out a longer area for the ski to slide down the keep a good constant distance and talk to the Mountains employees to finds the best time to perform the experiment. An interesting future experiment might involve whether the human voice can break a wine glass or any kind of glass.